Suspected car thief accidentally shoots himself during traffic stop

A man accidentally shot and injured himself when Fountain Valley police officers pulled over the suspected stolen car he was riding in on Thursday, May 18, authorities said.

Fountain Valley police spotted a white Hyundai Accent that had been reported stolen from Buena Park. The officers saw a woman get in the driver’s seat and a man in the passenger’s side and drive off, said Sgt. Antonius Spangler of the Fountain Valley Police Department.

It was about 12:40 p.m. when the officers pulled the car over at Orange Street and La Capilla Avenue and they discovered that the man had a gunshot wound on his leg.

“At some point she hands him a gun and he accidentally shoots himself,” Spangler said. The injury was not considered life-threatening, but the man was taken to UCI Medical Center for treatment.

He and the female driver, both convicted felons, were arrested on suspicion of car theft and possession of a handgun. Their names were not immediately available.